The present invention relates to a process for manufacturing a semi-finished item for the production of briefs with a circular knitting machine for knitwear, stockings and the like.
As is known, men's or women's briefs are currently generally manufactured with portions of knitting cut to size which are sewn together at the hips and possibly at the crotch region. Briefs are also subject to a finishing operation which consists of the application, by sewing, of an elastic border at the leg apertures and in the upper part intended to girdle the hips of the user.
Processes are furthermore known for the execution of semi-finished items which are manufactured with circular knitting machines for knitwear and stockings and are subsequently subject to finishing operations for the obtainment of briefs.
One of these processes, described in the U.S. Pat. No. 4,010,627, substantially consists of the execution of an elastic border intended to girdle the user proximate to the hips and, subsequently, all of the needles of the machine are carried to a working position in the knitting process to execute a tubular body with complete rows of knitting. At the end of the second step, two groups of needles which operate on two mutually angularly spaced portions of the tubular body are excluded from working and the number of needles in the two groups gradually increases so as to define, on the lateral surface of the tubular body, a pair of missing portions which gradually widen and constitute the leg apertures of the briefs to be manufactured. Once the knitting is terminated, the needles are disengaged from the last loops of knitting which they have formed and an elastic border is applied to the semi-finished item at the leg apertures. Subsequently, the briefs are completed by superimposing and mutually sewing the two flaps of the tubular body which are opposite to the elastic border formed by the machine.
This process, though it allows to obtain briefs without lateral sewings and avoids the application of the elastic border intended to girdle the hips of the user, requires in any case sewing operations for the application of the elastic border at the leg apertures. Such sewing operations must be executed with particular machines and increase the production time of the finished article, severely affecting its production cost.